Life in London - The Olympic Wrap

In case you missed it, we were lucky enough to have a little ol’ event called The Olympics descend on London throughout July and August.

If we’re totally honest, we initially weren’t all that enthused about it. Like many locals, we got caught up in the pervading idea that London was going to come to a grinding halt under the strain of over a million visitors descending on the city each day. This message was constantly reinforced via a massive communications campaign that hit just about every advertising space in London, and proclaimed over the PA systems in every tube station in the lead up. The message was simple – stay away. You would have been forgiven for thinking that London was preparing for Armageddon, not a mere sporting event.

Life in London - Notting Hill Carnival

If the video doesn't work, try this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9WBF_pCD4A

The Notting Hill Carnival was massive. Everyone we spoke to in the lead up told us that it would be. Given that it fell over a long weekend, we had previously thought about heading away somewhere. But after being repeatedly told how amazing it is, and given that it was going to be literally passing by our front door, we thought it was worth hanging around for.

Despite how much it had been talked up, we really didn’t quite know what to expect. Sitting behind Rio as the second biggest street carnival in the world, we were excited – and perhaps if we’re honest, even a little nervous – to find out.